The present invention relates to a massaging apparatus.
In general, in a chair type massaging apparatus having a seat portion and a seatback portion and comprising a massaging unit provided on the seatback portion so as to move upward and downward, the transmitting mechanism comprises a pair of right and left supporting arms, a pair of right and left driving arms for transmitting power to the supporting arms, the supporting arm being connected to the driving arm at the midsection thereof, a first therapeutic member (the upper therapeutic member) provided on one end portion (upper end portion) of the supporting arm, a second therapeutic member (lower therapeutic member) provided on the other end portion (lower end portion) of the supporting arm, so that a power is transmitted to the first therapeutic member and the second therapeutic member through the driving arm and the supporting arm to make the first therapeutic member and the second therapeutic member perform massage by the kneading action and the rapping action (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.262263/1997).
Since this type of the massaging apparatus of the related art is not generally constructed to recognize the position of the specific portion of the human body such as shoulders or the hip of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus automatically, for example, when the user makes the massaging apparatus automatically perform shoulder massage or hip massage successively by selecting an automatic operation course, the user had to change the sitting position so that the therapeutic member of the supporting arm is placed exactly on the desired location of the human body, or to operate the controller manually for fine adjustment of the moving position of the massaging unit (supporting arm).
In case of stimulating pressure points, which is well on its way to becoming a boom recent years, it is necessary to pinpoint the positions of the pressure points from the specific portion of the human body, such as shoulder, to some extent (for example about xc2x11 cm). However, there is a problem in that accurate positioning of the therapeutic member of the massaging unit with respect to the pressure points is difficult and thus the effective stimulation of the pressure points cannot be performed, since the position of the specific portion of the human body such as shoulders of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus cannot be recognized automatically. For example, when performing kneading, rapping, and acupressure automatically for recovering from fatigue, it is necessary to massage the specific position called xe2x80x9ctenchuxe2x80x9d, points on the back of the head along the headline, a few centimeters away from the centerline, and to apply acupressure therapy to the positions called xe2x80x9chaiyuxe2x80x9d, the third intercostal portions outsides of the columna vertebralis, and xe2x80x9ckakuyuxe2x80x9d, the seventh intercostals portions outsides of the columna vertebralis, it could not place the massaging member exactly on these pressure points.
There is also a massaging apparatus with an automatic massaging function that performs massaging motion according to the preset program while successively changing operating modes, operating positions, and operating time periods of the therapeutic member, comprising a massaging unit that makes the therapeutic member perform rapping motion or kneading motion or the like by the rotating power of the motor and is provided in the seatback portion, wherein the vertical distribution of the pressure applied to the therapeutic member from the human body is obtained by moving the therapeutic member upward and downward while maintaining the extent of projection of the therapeutic member toward the human body to determine the position of shoulders therefrom (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.190012/1994).
However, the detection of the pressure in this case is performed by detecting the displacement of the spring that is compressed by a reaction force generated when the therapeutic member presses the human body from the back via an arm or the like, or by detecting the pressure applied to the therapeutic member from the human body by mechanical displacement, and thus it is difficult to detect a slight change in pressure applied to the therapeutic member from the human body. As a consequent, the positions of the shoulders and the hip of the user cannot be determined accurately, and it is difficult to place the position of the therapeutic member exactly on the pressure points of the body, and thus effective massaging cannot be performed in case where it is desired to apply acupressure therapy to the pressure points suitable to the symptom successively and automatically.
In addition, there is recognized another problem in that an arm for transmitting a reaction force applied when the therapeutic member presses the human body from the back, a spring for receiving a reaction force from the massaging member, and a spring holding mechanism for holding the spring are additionally required in order to detect the pressure that is applied to the therapeutic member by the human body by mechanical displacement thereof, whereby complicating the construction of the pressure detection mechanism.
With the problems described above in view, the present invention provides a massaging apparatus that can determine the specific portion of the user""s body such as shoulders with respect to the massaging apparatus automatically and accurately in a simple construction.
In the related art, there is a known chair type massaging apparatus comprising a massaging mechanism that is movable upward and downward with respect to the seatback of the seat, in which the therapeutic members are provided in this massaging mechanism to perform massage such as kneading or rapping for the neck, shoulders, back, or hip of the user.
A massaging apparatus comprising an automatic therapeutic function having a program of motion or action of the therapeutic member stored in advance to automatically carry out a series of massaging motion according to the stored program (a series of action such as kneading or rapping), and comprising a mechanism that can automatically change the vertical position at which the therapeutic member performs massaging motion according to the seated height of the user prior to perform automatic therapy is also known.
For example, the chair type massaging apparatus as disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication No.2511451 is operated in such a manner that the therapeutic member is moved once to the uppermost position and then moved downward to the position where it abuts to the shoulder of the user, where the shoulder position is recognized by a signal detected by the pressure sensor integrated in the therapeutic member and set as a point of origin of massaging motion prior to perform automatic therapy. Then, a series of massaging motion programmed upward or downward is performed successively with the point of origin regarded as a reference point.
Therefore, this massaging apparatus can detect the shoulder position of the user automatically and perform massaging motion according to the physique of the user without troublesome operation such as manually adjusting the position of the therapeutic member to match with the body of the user or entering data such as user""s height or the seated height.
Normally, when using the chair type massaging machine, massaging motion is started by operating the switch provided on the armrest or the like immediately after sitting on the seat. However, immediately after sitting on the seat, the user is in many cases in an unstable state such that he/she is not a seated deep enough or the his/her back is not completely fitted with the seatback portion, or his/her back is bent and thus disturbed to take a proper posture due to action to operate the operating switch.
On the other hand, in the chair type massaging machine of the related art, since the therapeutic member may be kept in xe2x80x9cstoredxe2x80x9d state in which it is saved to the uppermost position (higher position than the head of the user) when not in use, the massaging motion actually starts from this xe2x80x9cstoredxe2x80x9d state in many cases, and thus the therapeutic member starts to move directly downward to detect the shoulder position without taking a process of upward movement when operating the switch.
Therefore, assuming that the shoulder position of the user is detected by moving the therapeutic member directly downward immediately after the user is seated, it cannot detect the accurate value because the seating state is not stable and thus the massaging motion is performed with the wrong shoulder position as a point of origin, whereby effective massage cannot be expected.
With such circumstances in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a massaging apparatus that can perform an effective massage suitable to the physique of the user by recognizing the value detected accurately by the position detecting means for detecting the position of a specific portion of the body as a position of the specific portion from a control viewpoint.
In the related art, a chair type massaging apparatus that perform massaging motion such as kneading or rapping for the neck, shoulders, back and hip of the user by providing a massaging mechanism so as to move freely in the vertical direction with respect to the seatback portion of the seat is known.
As a chair type massaging apparatus of the related art, recently, a massaging apparatus provided with an automatic therapeutic function having a program stored in advance of movement or action of the therapeutic member provided with a massaging mechanism to automatically carry out a series of massaging motion according to the stored program (a series of action such as kneading and rapping) is used, and a massaging apparatus having such an automatic therapeutic function that can perform effective massage without requiring the user to perform troublesome operation by automatically detecting the position of the user""s shoulders or the like and changing the vertical position at which massaging motion is to be performed according to the seated height of the user prior to performing automatic therapy as stated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.190012/1994 (hereinafter referred to as conventional example 1) and Japanese Patent Publication No.2511451 (hereinafter referred to as conventional example 2) has been developed.
However, in the massaging apparatus of both of the conventional examples 1 and 2, a sensor detects the pressure applied to the therapeutic member from the user""s body, and the shoulder position or the like of the user is determined from a change in pressure. Therefore, since the pressure is detected also from portions of the body other than the shoulders, such as a back, complex control is required for determining the difference therebetween. In addition, the sensor is actuated frequently by the load to the therapeutic member generated by massaging motion for the back or the like of the body, which may impair durability of the sensor or may cause the sensor to malfunction.
The sensor described above is adapted to detect the shoulder position indirectly via the load applied to the therapeutic member, and thus the load should be applied sufficiently to the therapeutic member. Therefore, it is difficult to detect the accurate position of the shoulder stably, and thus it has a problem to be solved where the accuracy of detection is concerned.
In the massaging apparatus of the conventional example 1, a spring is compressed via the arm or the like by the load applied to the therapeutic member, and displacements of the spring is detected by the sensor. Since a number of members such as the arm or the like are interposed between the sensor and the therapeutic member, the pressure is absorbed by the deformation of these members or rattling or play at the connecting portion thereof, which also cause impairment of accuracy of detection.
The massaging apparatus of the conventional example 2 is formed in double-layer construction in the direction of radius around the outer peripheral portion of the therapeutic member, and is provided with a pressure sensor integrated between those layers. The problem is slightly alleviated where the accuracy of detection is concerned since there are fewer members interposed between the therapeutic member and the sensor in comparison with the conventional example 1. However, since the therapeutic member should have a complex and special construction, increase in cost is inevitable.
With these circumstanced in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a massaging apparatus in which the shoulder position can be detected accurately with a simple construction.
For example, there is a chair type massaging apparatus having a seat portion and a seatback portion, in which a massaging unit having a therapeutic member that performs massaging motion is provided in the seatback portion so as to move freely in the vertical direction along the body of the user, and the therapeutic member is adapted to perform massaging motion such as kneading and rapping (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.262263/1997).
Since such a massaging apparatus of the related art is not generally constructed in such a manner that the position of the specific portion of the human body such as the shoulders or the hip of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus is recognized automatically, when the user makes the massaging apparatus automatically perform shoulder massage or hip massage successively for example by selecting an automatic operation course, the user has to change the sitting position by himself/herself so that the therapeutic member of the supporting arm is placed on the desired location of the human body, or to operate the controller manually for fine adjustment of the moving position of the massaging unit.
In case of stimulating pressure points, which is well on its way to becoming a boom recent years, it is necessary to pinpoint the positions of the pressure points from the specific portion of the human body, such as shoulder, to some extent (for example about xc2x11 cm). However, there is a problem in that accurate positioning of the therapeutic member on the massaging unit with respect to the pressure points is difficult and thus the effective stimulation of the pressure points cannot be performed, since the position of the specific portion of the human body such as shoulders of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus cannot be recognized automatically. For example, when performing kneading, rapping, and acupressure automatically for recovering from fatigue, though it is necessary to massage the specific position called xe2x80x9ctenchuxe2x80x9d, points on the back of the head along the headline, a few centimeters away from the centerline, and to apply acupressure therapy to the positions called xe2x80x9chaiyuxe2x80x9d, the third intercostal portions outsides of the columna vertebralis, and xe2x80x9ckakuyuxe2x80x9d, the seventh intercostals portions outsides of the columna vertebralis, it could not place the massaging member exactly on these pressure points.
There is also a massaging apparatus with an automatic massaging function that performs massaging motion according to the preset program while successively changing operating modes, operating positions, and operating time periods of the therapeutic member, comprising a massaging unit that makes the therapeutic member perform rapping motion or kneading motion or the like by the rotating power of the motor and is provided in the seatback portion, wherein the vertical distribution of the pressure applied to the therapeutic member from the human body is obtained by moving the therapeutic member upward and downward while maintaining the extent of projection of the therapeutic member toward the human body to determine the position of shoulders therefrom (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.190012/1994).
However, the detection of the pressure in this case is performed by detecting the displacement of the spring that is compressed by a reaction force generated when the therapeutic member presses the human body from the back via an arm or the like, or by detecting the pressure applied to the therapeutic member from the human body by mechanical displacement, and thus it is difficult to detect a slight change in pressure applied to the therapeutic member from the human body. As a consequent, the positions of the shoulders and the hip of the user cannot be determined accurately, and it is difficult to place the therapeutic member exactly on the pressure points of the body, and thus effective massaging cannot be performed in case where it is desired to apply acupressure to the pressure points suitable to the symptom successively and automatically.
In addition, there is recognized another problem in that an arm for transmitting a reaction force applied when the therapeutic member presses the human body from the back, a spring for receiving a reaction force from the massaging member, and a spring holding mechanism for holding the spring are additionally required in order to detect the pressure that is applied to the therapeutic member by the human body by mechanical displacement thereof, whereby complicating the construction of the pressure detection mechanism.
With the problems described above in view, the present invention provides a massaging apparatus that can determine the specific portion of the user""s body such as shoulders with respect to the massaging apparatus accurately in a simple construction.
In order to perform suitable massage according to the height of the user, various techniques to measure the shoulder position in advance for every user has been proposed.
For example, in the chair type massaging machine, there is a type in which the therapeutic member in the seatback portion is automatically moved downward from the upper portion to the lower portion, the load applied to the therapeutic member when the therapeutic member abuts to the shoulder is detected, and the position where the load is detected is regarded as the position of shoulders (related art 1).
Alternatively, there is a simple massaging apparatus in which the user selects the shoulder position that is suitable to the user manually from among several candidates for the shoulder position provided in advance instead of automatically detecting the shoulder position (related art 2)
The related art 1 seems to be convenient since the shoulder position can easily be obtained. However, there is an actual problem in that the shoulder position cannot be detected accurately.
In other words, when the user slouches, his/her shoulders are away from the seatback and thus even when the therapeutic member moves down to the shoulder position, it does not abut to the shoulder. In this case, the position where the therapeutic member abuts to the body is significantly lower than the actual position of the shoulder, and such lower position may be detected as the shoulder position by mistake.
The probability that the user is in the slouched posture is especially high at the time of detection of the shoulder position. Because the detection of the shoulder position has to be performed before massaging motion, it is to be performed immediately after the user sits on the massaging apparatus. It is rare that the user is seated as deep as the shoulder of the user comes into contact with the seatback of the seat at the moment immediately after seating, but it is normal that he/she is sitting on the front portion of the seat surface in a slouched posture.
At the moment immediately after seating, the user is holding the remote controller or operating the controller provided on the armrest for operating the massaging apparatus, and thus the user""s line of sight is directed in the downward direction, and thus he/she is apt to take a slouched posture.
As described thus far, in the related art 1, since the shoulder position is detected automatically, the user is not much aware of the fact that the detection of the shoulder position is being performed. Therefore, it is almost impossible to expect the user always takes a proper posture so that the shoulder position is accurately detected, whereby the accurate detection of the shoulder position cannot be made after all.
On the other hand, the related art 2 does not have problems as in the related art 1, since the user selects a candidate for the shoulder position that matches with the position of his/her shoulder by manual operation, and thus the user is involved in setting of the shoulder position.
However, a method of selecting a shoulder position from among several preset candidates for the shoulder position have a problem in that there is not necessarily a candidate for the shoulder position that exactly matches with the position of the user""s shoulders, and in this case, the user is obliged to select a candidate that is in the closest position to his/her actual shoulder position, and thus the accurate shoulder position cannot be obtained.
For example, in massaging apparatuses comprising a seat portion and the seatback portion as a general basic structure, there is a type having a massage drive comprising a massaging member such as a kneading ball and an air cell for advancing the massaging member toward the user by inflation and retracting the massage drive from the user by deflation provided within the seatback portion, and the massage drive is moved along the body of the user from the upper portion, or the neck, to the lower portion, or the position around the hip.
Since this type of the massaging apparatus of the related art is not constructed to recognize the position of the specific portion of the human body such as shoulders or the hip of the user with respect to be massaging apparatus automatically, for example, when the user makes the massaging apparatus automatically perform shoulder massage or hip massage successively by selecting an automatic operation course, the user has to change the sitting position so that the massaging member of the massage drive is placed on the desired location of the human body, or to operate the controller manually for fine adjustment of the moving position of the massage drive.
In case of stimulating pressure points, which is well on its way to becoming a boom recent years, it is necessary to pinpoint the positions of the pressure points from the specific portion of the human body, such as shoulder, to some extent (for example about xc2x11 cm). However, there is a problem in that accurate positioning of the massaging member on the massage drive with respect to the pressure points is difficult and thus the effective stimulation of the pressure points cannot be performed, since the position of the specific portion of the human body such as shoulders of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus cannot be recognized automatically. For example, when performing kneading, rapping, and acupressure automatically for recovering from fatigue, though it is necessary to massage the specific position called xe2x80x9ctenchuxe2x80x9d, points on the back of the head along the headline, a few centimeters away from the centerline, and to apply acupressure therapy to the positions called xe2x80x9chai-yuxe2x80x9d, the third intercostal portions outsides of the columna vertebralis, and xe2x80x9ckaku-yuxe2x80x9d, the seventh intercostals portions outsides of the columna vertebralis, it could not place the massaging member exactly on these pressure points.
There is also a massaging apparatus with an automatic massaging function that performs massaging motion according to the preset program while successively changing operating modes, operating positions, and operating time periods of the massaging member, comprising a mechanical massaging drive that makes the massage member perform rapping motion or kneading motion or the like by the rotating power of the motor and is provided in the seatback portion, wherein the vertical distribution of the pressure applied to the massaging member from the human body is obtained by moving the massaging member upward and downward while maintaining the extent of projection of the massaging member toward the human body to determine the position of shoulders therefrom (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.190012/1994).
However, the detection of the pressure in this case is performed by detecting the displacement of the spring that is compressed by a reaction force generated when the massaging member presses the human body from the back via an arm or the like, or by detecting the pressure applied to the massaging member from the human body by mechanical displacement, and thus it is difficult to detect a slight change in pressure applied to the massaging member from the human body. As a consequent, the position of the user""s shoulder position cannot be determined accurately, and thus even when this method is applied to the massaging apparatus in which the massaging member performs the rapping or kneading action by inflation and deflation of the air cell, it is difficult to place the massaging member exactly on the pressure point of the body since the shoulder position as the reference cannot be determined accurately, whereby effective massage cannot be expected in case where it is desired to apply acupressure therapy to the pressure point suitable to the symptom successively and automatically.
In addition, there is recognized another problem in that an arm for transmitting a reaction force applied when the massaging member presses the human body from the back, a spring for receiving a reaction force from the massaging member, and a spring holding mechanism for holding the spring are additionally required in order to detect the pressure that is applied to the massaging member by the human body by mechanical displacement thereof, whereby complicating the construction of the pressure detection mechanism.
With the problems described above in view, the present invention provides a massaging apparatus that can determine the shoulder position of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus automatically and accurately in a simple construction.
Alternatively, as stated in Japanese Laid-Open No.190012/1994, there is a known chair type massaging apparatus comprising a massaging mechanism adapted to move upward and downward freely with respect to the seatback of the seat, in which the massaging mechanism comprises a pair of right and left arms projecting toward the user and a therapeutic member mounted on one end of each of the arms so as to rotate freely about a lateral axis thereof so that the therapeutic member performs massage such as kneading or rapping for the neck, shoulders, back and hip of the user.
This massaging apparatus comprises an automatic therapy mechanism having a program of movement or action of the therapeutic member stored in advance to automatically carry out a series of massaging motion according to the stored program (a series of action such as kneading or rapping).
It also comprises a mechanism for detecting the height of the user""s shoulder automatically so that the vertical position at which the therapeutic member performs massaging motion can be changed automatically according to the seated height of the user prior to perform automatic therapy, and a mechanism for detecting the width and the shape of the body so that an adequate kneading action according to the width of the neck or the like can be performed, and thus comprises a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure applied to the therapeutic member from the body in the fore-and-aft directions (hereinafter, referred to as a first sensor) and a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure in the lateral direction (hereinafter, referred to as a second sensor).
More specifically, this massaging apparatus is operated in such a manner that, prior to the automatic therapy by moving the therapeutic member upward and downward while maintaining the extent of projection of the therapeutic member toward the human body, the pressure in the fore-and-aft directions applied to the therapeutic member from the shoulder or the back of the user is detected by the first sensor, the position of the shoulder is determined from the distribution of the detected pressure in the upper and the lower directions, the determined position is set as a point of origin of the massaging motion, and a series of massaging motion programmed from the point of origin as a reference point is performed successively and upwardly or downwardly.
The second sensor is adapted to detect a force that the left and the right therapeutic members pressurize toward each other with the user""s body interposed therebetween so that massage of an adequate kneading force is performed by determining the width and the shape of the body from the distance between these left and right therapeutic members by moving these left and right therapeutic members upward and downward along the body while adjusting the distance therebetween to keep the pressure constant, and controlling the same with feedback of the determined data. The second sensor can detect the strength of kneading motion (kneading strength) since the second sensor is adapted to detect the pressure applied in the lateral direction.
As is described thus far, the massaging apparatus of the related art is effective in the respect that an adequate massaging motion can be performed by recognizing the shape or the like of the user""s body by means of the first and the second sensors, but a following disadvantage exists in its pressure detecting mechanism.
The massaging apparatus of this type is constructed in such a manner that the arm is pivoted to the front and back, or is moved to the left and the right by the pressure in the fore-and-aft directions or in the lateral direction applied to the therapeutic member from the body, and the displacement of the spring compressed by the pivotal position or the movement in the left and the right directions is detected by the first and the second sensors, whereby the construction is disadvantageously complex because there are pluralities of members such as an arm, a spring, and the like interposed between the first and second sensors and the therapeutic member, and the pressure is absorbed by the deformation of the arm or the like or the rattling or the play at the connecting portion between those members, thereby impairing the accuracy of detection.
Therefore, the accurate determination of the shape of the body is impaired, and the accuracy is hindered when detecting the kneading force by the second sensor.
The massaging apparatus having a pressure sensor for the therapeutic member has been known in the related art (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication No.2511451), and it has an advantage in terms of the accuracy of detection because there are fewer members interposed between the sensor and the therapeutic member. However, disadvantageously, the construction of the therapeutic member have to be complex and special because a sensor is integrated, and the wiring construction of the pressure sensor is complex because the therapeutic member is adapted to rotate.
On the other hand, though massaging motion can be made with an adequate kneading force by providing the second sensor in the massaging apparatus of the related art described above, the second sensor is used strictly for detecting the width and shape of the human body and provided separately from the first sensor that detects the position of the shoulder of the user in the upper and the lower directions, and thus the two types of sensors are used thereby increasing the cost and impairing the miniaturization of the apparatus.
With these circumstances in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a massaging apparatus in which the detecting structure of the load applied to the therapeutic member is simplified and the accurate detection is ensured.
It is another object of the present invention is to provide a miniaturized massaging apparatus at low cost in which the detection of the kneading strength or the like is enabled by providing a detector for detecting the load in the lateral direction with respect to the therapeutic member and simultaneously the level of the user""s shoulder or the like is determined by means of the detector.
The technical means of the present invention to solve the above-described problems is, in a massaging apparatus comprising a supporting arm 26 with a therapeutic member mounted thereon pivotally supported and movable along the body of the user, that the position of specific portion of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus is determined from the relation between the vertical position of the supporting arm 26 and the pivotal position of the supporting arm 26.
In this case, in a massaging apparatus wherein the midsection of the supporting arm 26 is pivotally connected to the driving arm 25 for transmitting a power to the supporting arm 26, a first therapeutic member 8 is mounted on one end of the supporting arm 26, a second therapeutic member 9 is mounted on the other end of the supporting arm 26, and the supporting arm 26 moves freely along the user""s body with the driving arm 25, it may be constructed in such a manner that the position of the specific portion of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus can be determined from the relation between the vertical position of the supporting arm 26 and the pivotal position of the supporting arm 26 with respect to the driving arm 25.
In this case, the supporting arm 26 and the driving arm 25 may be moved along the user""s body with the first therapeutic member 8 and the second therapeutic member 9 being kept into contact with the user to determine the position of the specific portion of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus from the relation between the vertical position of the supporting arm 26 and the pivotal position detected by a pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60.
Another technical means of the present invention is, in a massaging apparatus comprising a supporting arm 26 with a therapeutic member mounted thereon pivotally supported and movable along the body of the user, that a pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 for detecting that the supporting arm 26 reached the prescribed range of pivotal movement is provided.
In this case, in a massaging apparatus wherein the midsection of the supporting arm 26 is pivotally connected to the driving arm 25 for transmitting a power to the supporting arm 26, a first therapeutic member 8 is mounted on one end of the supporting arm 26, a second therapeutic member 9 is mounted on the other end of the supporting arm 26, and the supporting arm 26 moves freely along the user""s body with the driving arm 25, there may be provided a pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 for detecting that the supporting arm 26 reached the prescribed range of pivotal movement with respect to the driving arm 25.
Still another technical means of the present invention is, in a massaging apparatus comprising a supporting arm 26 with a therapeutic member mounted thereon pivotally supported and movable along the body of the user, that a pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 for detecting the pivotal position of the supporting arm 26 is provided.
In this case, in a massaging apparatus wherein the midsection of the supporting arm 26 is pivotally connected to the driving arm 25 for transmitting a power to the supporting arm 26, a first therapeutic member 8 is mounted on one end of the supporting arm 26, a second therapeutic member 9 is mounted on the other end of the supporting arm 26, and the supporting arm 26 moves freely along the user""s body with the driving arm 25, there may be provided a pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 for detecting the pivotal position of the supporting arm 26 with respect to the driving arm 25.
Further technical means of the present invention is, in a massaging apparatus comprising a supporting arm 26 with a therapeutic member mounted thereon pivotally supported and movable along the body of the user, that the position of the specific portion of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus is determined from the vertical position of the supporting arm 26 at the moment when the pivotal movement of the supporting arm 26 reached the prescribed range.
In this case, in a massaging apparatus wherein the midsection of the supporting arm 26 is pivotally connected to the driving arm 25 for transmitting a power to the supporting arm 26, a first therapeutic member 8 is mounted on one end of the supporting arm 26, a second therapeutic member 9 is mounted on the other end of the supporting arm 26, and the supporting arm 26 moves freely along the user""s body with the driving arm 25, it may be constructed in such a manner that a pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 for detecting the pivotal position of the supporting arm 26 with respect to the driving arm 25 is provided, and the supporting arm 26 and the driving arm 25 are moved together along the user""s body with the first therapeutic member 8 and the second therapeutic member 9 being kept into contact with the user to determine the position of the specific portion of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus from the vertical position of the supporting arm 26 at the moment when the pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 detected that the supporting arm 26 reached the prescribed range of pivotal movement with respect to the driving arm 25.
Still further technical means of the present invention is characterized in that the pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 comprises an optical sensor having a light emitting element 57 and a light receiving element 58, and the fact that the supporting arm 26 reached the prescribed range of pivotal movement is detected by determining whether or not light from the light emitting element 57 is received by the light receiving element 58.
Another technical means of the present invention is characterized in that the pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 comprises a limit switch 63, and the fact that the supporting arm 26 reached the prescribed range of pivotal movement is detected by switching of the limit switch 63 between ON and OFF.
Still another technical means of the present invention is characterized in that the pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 comprises a lead switch 66, and the lead switch 66 is switched between ON and OFF by the change of the magnetic field at the moment when the supporting arm 26 reached the prescribed range of pivotal movement.
Another technical means of the present invention is characterized in that the pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 comprises a variable resistor 69 or an encoder of which the output varies according to the pivotal position of the supporting arm 26.
Another technical means of the present invention is characterized in that the pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60 comprises a magnetoelectric converting element, and the output of the magnetoelectric converting element varies with the variation in magnetic field due to the pivotal position of the supporting arm 26.
Another technical means of the present invention is characterized in that the position of the specific portion of the user to be determined is the position of the shoulder.
Another technical means of the present invention is characterized in that there are provided a pair of left and right supporting arms 26 and a pair of pivotal-position-detecting sensors 60 corresponding to the respective supporting arms 26.
In this case, the pivotal position can be detected more accurately while preventing erroneous detection by the pivotal-position-detecting sensor 60, for example, by taking the matched values or by averaging the values from the values detected by both of the pair of pivotal-position-detecting sensors 60.
In addition, in the present invention, the following technical means are instituted in order to achieve the above-described objects.
The present invention is a massaging apparatus comprising a therapeutic member for massaging the user""s body provided so as to move freely along the user""s body in the vertical direction, and characterized in that a position detecting means for detecting the position of the specific portion of the body is provided so that the detected value obtained by the position detecting means in the process of movement of the therapeutic member from the lower position to the upper position of the specific portion is recognized as the position of the specific portion.
In this case, when the therapeutic member is moved upward from the hip to the shoulder along the body, the back of the user is stretched by the xe2x80x9crubbingxe2x80x9d effect of the therapeutic member, more specifically, the xe2x80x9crubbingxe2x80x9d action on the hip portion corrects the posture of the user so that the back portion comes into intimate contact with the seatback portion. In addition, since the xe2x80x9crubbingxe2x80x9d effect allows the user""s body to fit with the massaging apparatus, the user leaves his/her body naturally to the massaging apparatus thereby stabilizing the posture.
Since the detected value obtained by the position detecting means in the process of the upward movement of the therapeutic member is considered to be a value that indicates the exact position of the specific portion of the body that is obtained in a state in which the posture of the user is corrected or stabilized, the physique of the user can be accurately determined by recognizing the detected value as the position of the specific portion of the body from the control viewpoint.
Therefore, recognition of the erroneously detected value caused by the improper posture of the user as the position of the specific portion of the body can be prevented as much as possible, thereby enabling effective massage corresponding to the physique of the user determined based on the accurately detected value.
The present invention is characterized in that the detected value obtained by the position detecting means in the process of reverse and upward movement of the therapeutic member after being moved downward to the position lower than the specific portion of the body once is recognized as the position of the specific portion of the body.
In this arrangement, since the posture of the user is positively corrected by the xe2x80x9crubbingxe2x80x9d movement by the upward and downward reciprocal movement of the therapeutic member, and thus the posture of the user is further stabilized, the accuracy of the detected value obtained in the process of upward movement is increased.
The present invention is characterized in that the first value detected by the position detecting means in the process of downward movement of the therapeutic member from the upper position of the specific portion of the body and the second value detected by the position detecting means in the process of upward movement thereof from the lower position of the specific portion of the body are compared, and when these values are close agreement with each other, the second value is recognized as the position of the specific portion of the body.
In this arrangement, when recognizing the detected value obtained in the process of upward movement of the therapeutic member as the position of the specific portion of the body (second detected value), it is compared with the detected value obtained in the process of downward movement of the therapeutic member (first detected value), and when these detected values are close agreement with each other, the second detected value is recognized as the position of the specific portion of the body.
In other words, highly reliable recognition of the accurate position is realized by imposing prescribed condition to the second detected value, and the physique of the user can be determined more accurately in comparison with the case where the second detected value obtained simply in the process of upward movement is recognized as the position of the specific portion of the body.
The present invention is characterized in that the therapeutic member moves upward a plurality of time and the position of the specific portion is detected by the position detecting means in every process of upward movement, and when the detected values are in close agreement with each other, the value last detected is recognized as the position of the specific portion.
In this arrangement, comparing a plurality of detected values obtained in the process of the plurality of times of upward movements of the therapeutic member increases reliability of recognition of the accurate position, and when these detected values are in close agreement with each other, the value last detected in a state in which the posture is positively corrected and stabilized by xe2x80x9crubbingxe2x80x9d effect of a plurality of times of upward movement of the therapeutic member is recognized as the position of the specific portion of the body, thereby determining the physique of the user more accurately.
In the present invention, the following technical means are instituted in order to achieve the above-described objects.
The present invention is a massaging apparatus comprising a therapeutic member 226 for massaging the user""s body provided so as to move freely along the body, characterized in that the therapeutic member 226 is provided via a supporting body 225 projecting toward the user, and a detector 240 for directly detecting the shoulder S of the user is provided at the position of the supporting body 225 behind the therapeutic member 226.
In this case, for example, when the therapeutic member 226 is moved downward from the side of the user""s head toward the shoulder S, the user""s shoulder S is placed behind the therapeutic member 226, or under the supporting body 225 projecting toward the user, and the presence of the shoulder S thus placed is directly detected by the detector 240.
Since the detector 240 is provided behind the therapeutic member 226, the detector 240 cannot easily detect the back or the hip when the therapeutic member 226 is in contact with these portions, and thus complex control for determining the shoulder position is not necessary.
Therefore, the shoulder position can be detected accurately in the simple construction in comparison with the case where the load applied on the therapeutic member 226 is detected as in the related art, thereby ensuring massaging motion suitable to the physique of the user.
In addition, since the detector 240 is not actuated while massaging the back and the hip, durability of the detector 240 is prevented from being lowered, thereby simplifying the structure and reducing the cost in comparison with the case where the detector is integrated in the therapeutic member.
The massaging apparatus according to the present invention is a massaging apparatus comprising a therapeutic member 226 for massaging the users body provided so as to move a along the body, characterized in that the therapeutic member 226 is mounted via a supporting body 225 projecting toward the user, the supporting member 225 is provided with a pair of supporting portions 225a and 225b on which there are provided therapeutic member 226 respectively, there is provided between the supporting portions 225a and 225b a space X opening toward the user and being able to receive the user""s shoulder S, and the supporting body 226 is provided with a detector 240 for directly detecting the shoulder S of the user within the space X as a range of detection.
In this arrangement, since the shoulder S is placed in the space X between a pair of supporting portions 225a and 225b when the therapeutic member 226 is moved downward as described above, providing a detector 240 for detecting the space X as a range of detection enables accurate detection of the shoulder S placed within the range of detection.
The detector 240 is preferably provided with a micro switch that is turned ON and OFF when it comes into contact with the user""s shoulder S or a pressure sensor for detecting the load applied by the shoulder S when it comes into contact with the shoulder S. In this arrangement, the structure for detecting the shoulder position is simplified and thus implemented at low cost, and the accuracy of detection can be preferably maintained since it is adapted to come into contact with the shoulder S.
To come into contact with the user""s shoulder S here includes not only a state in which the contact of the micro switch or the pressure sensor comes into contact directly with the shoulder S in itself, but also a state in which a cover covering the micro switch or the like in a operable state or a flexible covering member 215 provided on a medical treatment bed 204 so as to cover the front side of the therapeutic member is interposed between the shoulder S and the contact.
The detector 240 is not limited to the micro switch or the pressure sensor, but a sensor of non-contact type (an infrared sensor for detecting heat from the shoulder S, a reflecting-type ultrasound sensor for receiving reflected wave from the shoulder S, and the like) may be employed.
The technical means of the present invention for solving the problems described above is, in a massaging apparatus comprising a massaging unit 307 having a therapeutic member for performing massaging motion provided so as to move along the user""s body, that equipment to be arranged on the specific portion of the user""s body is provided so that the position of equipment with respect to the massaging apparatus is detected to determine the position of the specific portion of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus.
Another technical means of the present invention is, in a massaging apparatus comprising a massaging unit 307 having a therapeutic member for performing massaging motion provided so as to move along the user""s body, that equipment to be arranged on the specific portion of the user""s body and detecting means 359 for detecting the position of equipment with respect to the massaging apparatus so that the position of the specific portion of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus is determined from the position of equipment with respect to the massaging apparatus detected by the detecting means 359.
Still another technical means of the present invention is, in a massaging apparatus comprising a massaging unit 307 having a therapeutic member for performing massaging motion provided so as to move along the user""s body, that a detecting means 359 is provided between equipment of the massaging apparatus to be arranged at the specific portion of the user""s body and the massaging unit 307 for detecting that both of them are approaching with each other, so that the position of the specific portion of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus is determined from the position of the massaging unit 307 at the moment when detection is made by the detecting means 359.
Further technical means of the present invention is characterized in that the detecting means 359 comprises a magnetic body 357 mounted on one of equipment and the massaging unit 307 and a magnetic sensor 358 mounted on the other one of them.
Still further technical means of the present invention is characterized in that equipment of the massaging apparatus is a pillow 351 of the massaging apparatus having a seatback portion 304, and the pillow 351 is mounted on the front surface of the seatback portion 304 so as to be adjustable in the upward and downward direction, so that the position of the specific portion of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus is determined by detecting the position of the pillow 351 arranged at the user""s head.
Another technical means of the present invention is characterized in that equipment of the massaging apparatus is a remote controller 363 for controlling the massaging apparatus, and the position of the specific portion of the user with respect to the massaging apparatus is determined by detecting the position of the remote controller 363 with respect to the massaging apparatus when the user arranged the remote controller 363 at the specific portion of the user.
Still another technical means of the present invention is characterized in that the position of the shoulder with respect to the massaging apparatus is determined as a position of the specific portion of the user.
With these problems in view, the present invention employs the following technical means in order to set the position of the shoulder more accurately.
In other words, the present invention is a massaging apparatus comprising a body of the massaging apparatus, a therapeutic member provided on the body of the massaging apparatus so as to move freely along the user""s body in the vertical direction, and a position control element for positioning the therapeutic member manually to the arbitrary positions for giving a massage to the user, characterized in that a memory for storing the position of the therapeutic member determined by the manual operation of the position control element as a reference position (for example, the shoulder position) is provided.
In this arrangement, since the user can place the therapeutic member at the arbitrary places by manually operating the position control element, by positioning the therapeutic member at his/her shoulder position for example, that position is stored in the memory as a shoulder position. At this time, by positioning accurately by manual operation, the shoulder position can be set accurately.
The present invention can be applied not only to the setting of xe2x80x9cthe shoulder positionxe2x80x9d, but also to the setting of other portions of the body. For example, by enabling the apparatus to set the hip position as a reference position for giving a massage accurately to the area around the hip, or by enabling the apparatus to set both of the shoulder position and the hip position as reference positions, the shape of the body can be determined more accurately, thereby realizing more suitable massage.
It is not necessary that the entire movement of the therapeutic member be performed by manual operation. For example, it is also possible to employ the construction in which an automatic shoulder position detecting means is used to move the therapeutic member automatically to the position that seems to be the shoulder position as in the case of related art 1, and then move the therapeutic member to the accurate shoulder position manually, and that position is set as a reference position. In this case, since it is not necessary to perform the entire movement manually, the operation is simplified.
Another aspect of the invention is a massaging apparatus comprising a body of the massaging apparatus, a positioning body provided on the body of the massaging apparatus so as to move freely along the user""s body in the vertical direction, and a position control element for manually positioning the positioning body at the arbitrary positions, characterized in that a memory for storing the position of the positioning body determined by the manual operation of the position control element as a reference position is provided.
It purports that a positioning body for determining the reference position is preferably a therapeutic member for performing massage, but a separate positioning body for positioning other than the therapeutic member may be provided.
Another aspect of the present invention is a massaging apparatus comprising a positioning body provided on the main body of the massaging apparatus so as to move freely along the user""s body in the vertical direction, of which the movement is controlled by instructions from the control element, characterized in that a reference-position-determining control element for performing determination of the reference position for the positioning body, and the control element detects the position of the positioning body at the moment when the reference-position-determining control element is operated as a reference position.
In this case, when the freely movable positioning body is situated at a certain position, the control element detects the position thereof as a reference position by operating the reference-position-determining control element. When the reference position is the shoulder position for example, by operating the determining control element at the moment when the therapeutic member is at the shoulder position, that position is detected as the shoulder position, and the control element can perform massage based on information of the shoulder position.
Though the reference-position-determining control element can be a special switch only for determining the reference position, it is also possible to share with the switch having other functions such as a massage start switch. When shared with the massage start switch, by operating the start switch, the reference position is detected and stored in the memory, and massaging motion starts.
In addition, the position control element or the reference-position-determining control element does not have to be a switch that physically exist, and it can be, for example, a switch that is operated by touching the panel according to the instructions shown on the touch-screen display.
In order to store the reference position into the memory, for example, a certain period of time for setting the shoulder position may be set in advance, so that the positioning body is moved within the preset time period and the position of the positioning body at the moment when the preset time has elapsed is stored automatically in the memory as a reference position. In this case, operation of the reference-position-determining switch is not necessary.
In the present invention, the following technical means are instituted in order to solve the above-described problems. The present invention is a massaging apparatus comprising a massaging member and a massage drive including an air cell that is inflated to advance the massaging member toward the user and is deflated to retract the same from the user, the massage drive being constructed to move along the user""s body, characterized in that means for detecting inflation and deflation of the air cell is provided.
In this case, the massage drive is moved along the user""s body with the air cell inflated and thus the massaging member advanced toward the user. When the massaging member is not in contact with the user, or when the massaging member is placed above the shoulder, no load is applied to the massaging member and thus the massaging member is maintained in an advanced state and the air cell is maintained in an inflated state.
On the other hand, when the massaging member moves to the position lower than the shoulder position and comes into contact with the user, the load is applied in the direction that pushes back the massaging member and thus the air cell is deflated. By detecting inflation and deflation of the air cell in association with the movement of the massage drive, the vertical position of the shoulders that varies from one user to another can be detected.
When detecting inflation and deflation of the air cell as is described above, more quantity of displacement can be expected than the case of detecting the pressure applied to the massaging member from the body by mechanical displacement. Therefore, occurrence of errors is reduced and detecting means of a simple structure can be employed.
For detecting the quantity of inflation or deflation of the air cell, detecting means may be provided directly on the air cell. However, it is more preferable to provide a base portion that advances toward and retracts from the user according to inflation and deflation of the air cell, and to mount a massaging member on the base portion, so that the detecting means detects the movement of the base portion.
The detecting means is preferably a limit switch that is turned ON and OFF according to inflation and deflation of the air cell. In this case, by constructing the limit switch so as to be switched between ON and OFF depending on whether it is above the shoulder position or below the shoulder position, the position where the limit switch is switched between ON and OFF can be determined to be the shoulder position.
In the present invention, the following technical means are instituted in order to achieve the above-described object.
A massaging apparatus according to the present invention comprises a therapeutic member for massaging the user""s body, and a supporting body for supporting the therapeutic member via a supporting shaft, characterized in that a detector for detecting the load in the axial direction applied to the therapeutic member is provided between the supporting body and the therapeutic member in the direction of the axis of the supporting shaft.
In this arrangement, the load in the axial direction of the supporting shaft applied to the therapeutic member can be detected by a simple construction, and the member to be interposed between the detector and the therapeutic member can be eliminated or reduced, thereby enabling improvement of the accuracy of detection. Therefore, when the axial direction of the supporting shaft is oriented in the lateral direction (in the direction of the width of the body), the strength of kneading motion by the therapeutic member can be detected accurately, and thus suitable kneading motion can be performed by feedback control by the user of the detected value.
In the present invention, the following technical means are instituted in order to achieve the above-described object.
A massaging apparatus according to the present invention comprises a therapeutic member for massaging the user""s body provided so as to move freely along the user""s body in the vertical direction, characterized in that a detector for detecting the load applied to the therapeutic member in the lateral direction, and the load applied to the therapeutic member from the body in the lateral direction is detected by the detector while moving the therapeutic member in the vertical direction, and the position of the specific portion of the body in the vertical direction is determined based on the detected value.
In this case, when the therapeutic member performs the kneading motion, the load is applied to the therapeutic member in the lateral direction as a reaction force against a kneading force, and the detector detects the load to determine the strength of a kneading force.
On the other hand, when the therapeutic member presses the body by vertical movement thereof, the load is applied to the therapeutic member from the body as a reaction force. The load generally includes not only the components in the fore-and-aft directions (toward the front) and the vertical direction, but also the lateral components resulting from the construction of the therapeutic member, inclination of the supporting shaft and other factors, and there is a case where a lateral force is generated by the load. Therefore, when the lateral load is detected by the use of the detector, the position of the specific portion of the body in the vertical direction can thus be determined from the detected value.
For example, when determining the position (vertical position) of the user""s shoulder, the therapeutic member is moved downward from the side of the user""s head toward the shoulder, and brought into contact with the upper surface of the shoulder. At this time, the load having the components in the lateral direction is applied to the therapeutic member as a reaction force against a force applied to the shoulder by the therapeutic member. Therefore, the load is detected by the detector to determine the vertical position of the shoulder from the vertical position of the therapeutic member at the moment when the load is detected.
Therefore, a massaging apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the detector for detecting a kneading strength or the like is used also for determining the vertical position of the shoulder or the like, whereby the cost reduction and miniaturization can be realized in comparison with the case where the separate sensors are used for the respective functions.
In the case described above, preferably, the therapeutic member is supported on the supporting body via a supporting shaft having the axis in the lateral direction, and the detector is mounted between the supporting body and the therapeutic member in the direction of axis of the supporting shaft. In this arrangement, the accurate detection of the load is realized in a simple construction.
The present invention is characterized in that the therapeutic member is mounted rotatably about the axis of the supporting shaft, and the detector is provided on the side of the supporting body with the movement about the axis of the supporting shaft restrained. In this arrangement, wiring of the detector can be made easily in a simple construction.
The present invention is characterized in that the detector is provided with a pre-load applied, so as to prevent impairment of the accuracy of detection resulting from the rattling or play in the axial direction existing between the supporting body and the therapeutic member.